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THE NIBBLE’s Gourmet News & Views
Trends, Products & Items Of Note In The World Of Specialty Foods
This is the blog section of THE NIBBLE. Read all of our content on TheNibble.com,
the online magazine about gourmet and specialty food.
Archive for Cookies/Cake/Pastry
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November 19, 2009 at 8:13 am
· Filed under Cookies/Cake/Pastry, Entertaining, Recipes, Thanksgiving
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For Thanksgiving weekend, how about some apricot pumpkin bread, delicious for breakfast, brunch, snacks and tea sandwiches. This recipe is courtesy of B & R Farms, apricot growers who sell their delicious products at California farmers markets and to wholesalers. For more recipes, visit brfarms.com.
APRICOT PUMPKIN BREAD
Ingredients
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup canned pumpkin
- 1/2 cup salad oil (we like olive oil)
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- 2 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoons each: baking powder, ground cinnamon, ground cloves, ground nutmeg, ground ginger
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
- 1 cup chopped dried apricots
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B & R Farms apricots drying in the California sun. Photo by Shannon Grissom, courtesy B & R Farms. |
Preparation
1. Preheat oven to at 350°F.
2. In large bowl, beat together egg, sugar, pumpkin, oil and orange juice.
3. In another bowl, mix flour with baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and ginger and add to egg mixture.
4. Stir in nuts and dried apricots. Pour into a greased loaf pan and bake for about an hour until toothpick comes out clean.
5. Cool 15 minutes, release from pan and serve warm with butter, cream cheese or apricot preserves. (Cream cheese and apricot preserves makes a great sandwich! Serve it with a cup of black tea; Earl Grey or Assam would be especially nice.)
Find pumpkin pie recipes in our Gourmet Pies & Pastry Section.
Find recipes for pumpkin cupcakes, banana bread and carrot cake in our Gourmet Cakes Section.
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November 12, 2009 at 8:31 am
· Filed under Cookies/Cake/Pastry, Gifts, Top Pick Of The Week
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Thank goodness the growing demand for sophisticated cookie platters gave birth to Cookie Panache, because the cookies are simply wonderful. In a world where the cost of labor and ingredients to bake one’s own butter cookies is almost as much as buying the finest, Cookie Panache is a real find. Crafting twists on favorites that add layers of flavor, these cookies and their biscotti siblings have most definitely earned their panache.
Cookie Panache answers the ever-hanging question of what to give for personal and corporate holiday gifts, hostess gifts and thank-you gifts for loving relatives who treat you to Thanksgiving, and Christmas and Chanukah memories.*
*Anyone who celebrates anything else: Add it here!
So, what are you waiting for? You know you want to dig in and find out more about the Dulce de Leche Cookie (a super sandwich), Triple Chocolate Bites (worth every calorie), Mojito Lime (a cocktail in a glass), Dutch Granny (we’ve adopted her) and the rest of the melodious cookie chorus, including impeccable biscotti.
Read the full review of Cookie Panache—but read it on a full stomach.
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Biscotti with panache. Photo by Evan Dempsey | THE NIBBLE. |
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See more of our favorite cookies, plus recipes, in our Gourmet Cookies Section.
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November 11, 2009 at 8:21 am
· Filed under Coffee & Tea, Cookies/Cake/Pastry
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We’re always testing food at THE NIBBLE; and with the warm weather we were having yesterday, a member of our team picked up both Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts iced coffees. At Dunkin’ Donuts, she was tempted by the fall donut display and picked up a sampling:
Fall Munchkins Donut Hole Treats. Decorated with autumn-colored non-pareils, these cuties were the winner by a mile. Suggested retail price $4.49 for a 25-count box.
Pumpkin Donut. Our second favorite was the glazed cake donut, which was said to be pumpkin-flavored. We didn’t taste the pumpkin, but the dough is—surprise!—a fun pumpkin color. And it’s a good glazed donut. Suggested retail price $.89.
Fall Harvest Donut. We didn’t get to try this yeast ring donut topped with orange icing and a festive sprinkle mix. But we love yeast donuts; maybe tomorrow? Suggested retail price $.89.
Pumpkin Muffin. This large muffin—share it with someone—is topped with white icing and streusel crumbs. It’s too crumbly for us, and the pumpkin flavor could be more pronounced. Suggested retail price $1.39.
What about a lowfat muffin? Now there’s the:
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Our fall favorites at Dunkin’ Donuts: The glazed Pumpkin Donut at left, with pumpkin-colored dough inside and the colorful Fall Munchkins. At top, Pumpkin Muffin. At right, Low Fat Caramel Apple Muffin. Photo by Evan Dempsey | THE NIBBLE. |
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Low Fat Apple Caramel Muffin. This is Dunkin’ Donuts’ first low-fat muffin, with only three grams of fat. It’s part of the DDSMART menu of better-for-you items that meet at least one of the following criteria: 25% fewer calories; 25% less sugar, fat, saturated fat or sodium than comparable fare, and/or contain ingredients that are nutritionally beneficial. This muffin may have 25% less fat, but it’s a big muffin with plenty of calories and carbs. Might we suggest that “better for you” would be a mini two-ounce muffin, and not six ounces or more? We’re just saying! Suggested retail price $1.39.
In terms of the iced coffee: Starbucks won ($3.05 compared to $2.82, representing NYC prices with tax).
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November 10, 2009 at 11:59 am
· Filed under Cookies/Cake/Pastry, Food Holidays
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It’s National Vanilla Cupcake Day. Invite friends over tonight for TV and a bake-along. Here’s a recipe for a yummy vanilla cupcake with cream cheese frosting.
The name “cupcake” is derived from the teacup. Before the advent of muffin tins, where they are baked with a paper or foil liner, cupcakes were often baked in individual tea cups (as well as ramekins). They are frosted and often decorated with sprinkles, candies, rosettes, coconut and other toppings. In recent years, cupcakes have moved beyond children’s party fare and have become popular with pastry chefs and consumers as sophisticated alternatives to large cakes at weddings and other celebrations, where cupcake “trees” stack the cupcakes in the shape of a large, tiered cake.
Check out all the different types of cake in our Cake Glossary.
Find more of our favorite cakes and recipes in our Gourmet Cakes Section.
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Happiness is a vanilla cupcake. Photo by Ben Phillips | IST. |
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October 30, 2009 at 7:58 am
· Filed under Christmas, Cookies/Cake/Pastry, Entertaining, Recipes
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Back in the 17th century, sugar was costly and shortbread was considered an expensive luxury, a treat reserved for special celebrations, Christmas and New Year’s celebrations. Imagine how over-the-top-indulgent those party-goers would think us if they had these dipped shortbread fingers!
We thank the folks at Walkers Shortbread for this festive yet easy recipe. Serve it for dessert with ice cream or with coffee and tea when guests stop by during the holiday season.
Ingredients
1 package (5.3 ounces) Walkers Shortbread Fingers
1 bar (8 ounces) of chocolate—bittersweet and/or white (or double the recipe and make one batch of each)
A selection of toppings: chopped nuts (almonds, hazelnuts, pecans, macadamia nuts or pistachios or walnuts); chopped candied fruit; crystallized ginger; mini chocolate (or other flavored chips); grated coconut; zest of orange or lemon; or your own favorite toppings)
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Dip shortbread fingers: It’s easy, fun—and impressive! Photo courtesy Walker’s Shortbread. |
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Preparation
1. Microwave chocolate in medium microwavable bowl on HIGH for 2 minutes. Stir until chocolate is melted and smooth.
2. Dip shortbread fingers into the melted chocolate. Immediately roll in chopped nuts, coconut, mini-chocolate chips, slivered almonds, etc.
3. Or place plain dipped chocolate shortbread onto waxed paper and let cool. Then drizzle with contrasting chocolate. Serves 4.
There are many more recipes available at www.walkersus.com. Enjoy!
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October 29, 2009 at 6:56 am
· Filed under Cookies/Cake/Pastry, Gifts
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Say you like to snack on cookies. And chips. And pretzels. And chocolate. But you can’t just sit down with bags of all three. What’s a girl to do?
If you’re Sara Snacker (legally, Sara Leand), your entrepreneurial journey began in college, where you built and ran a snack company out of your college dorm room, selling cookies and treats across the campus as well as to local merchants. She had to put the business on hold when it started taking too much time away from her studies (and her roommate kept eating all the supplies—oink, but who can blame her).
After more than a dozen years in the entertainment industry as a television agent and producer (she executive-produced shows for E!, Lifetime and TLC), Ms. Snacker, now a wife and mother, is back in the sweet snacks business. Her first product (more to come in a few weeks) is the thing to grab if you can’t choose among shortbread, potato chips and pretzels and chocolate.
A buttery, crumbly cookie is packed with pieces of crunchy chips and pretzels, then dipped in your choice of white or dark chocolate. That’s the Chip n’ Etzel. (Or is that the Cookie Chip n’ Choc n’ Etzel? We’re not sure, but Chip n’ Etzel, though it sounds different, hits only two of the four snack foods.) It’s a bit sweet, a bit crunchy, and a teeny bit salty.
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The Chip n’ Etzel combines four favorite snacks in one. Photo by Hannah Kaminsky | THE NIBBLE. |
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Whatever it is, it’s a soft and lovely treat that’s perfect with coffee, tea, cocoa or a glass of milk. Or nothing at all.
Snack on over to SaraSnacker.com: Gift boxes and keepsake tins are available for the holidays. Just don’t go bonkers over the other goodies until we write about them next month.
See more of our favorite cookies and cookie recipes in THE NIBBLE’s Cookies Section, including the history of cookies! (OMG, what if they had never been invented????)
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October 28, 2009 at 10:00 am
· Filed under Cookies/Cake/Pastry, Halloween, Recipes, Thanksgiving
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Fall is the time to bake up a pumpkin storm, so let’s add to the list with a delicious pumpkin cupcake with pumpkin cheesecake (cream cheese) frosting.
Created by cupcake blogger Stefani Pollack, the cupcakes are made with healthier graham flour and bits of graham crackers, yielding a far more rich-tasting, graham-y cake with a muffin-like texture—no delicate little cup of fluff.
Check out the recipe.
Read about the invention of graham flour and graham crackers.
Find more of Stefani’s recipes at Cupcake Project: An Experimental Cupcake Blog.
For another yummy combination of pumpkin and cheesecake, check out our Pumpkin Mocha Cheesecake Recipe, an elegant special-occasion dessert.
Make some pumpkin mousse.
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Holiday flavors: graham flour (used to make graham crackers) and pumpkin cheesecake frosting. Photo courtesy Stefani Pollack | Cupcake Project. |
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October 28, 2009 at 7:29 am
· Filed under Cookies/Cake/Pastry, Recipes
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The difference between a good cookie or cake and a great one generally isn’t a “secret ingredient.” The secret is using the best basic ingredients: top-grade chocolate or cocoa, fresh organic eggs, artisan flour, real Madagascar (Bourbon) vanilla and fresh-ground spices—not pre-ground ones that have been sitting on the shelf for months (or years!) Try the best ingredients with your favorite recipe and see if they make a big impact. As tough as it is to “waste food,” don’t use old ingredients—toss old spices, cocoa and baking chocolate and don’t try to use up old butter in cake or cookies. Even if the carton says that the eggs are in still in the window of usability, the fresher they are, the better they bake up. When you factor in your labor and the cost of all ingredients, using the best and the freshest is worth it.
Visit our Cakes Section for recipes and our favorite gourmet cake products and mixes.
See our favorite vanilla beans and vanilla extracts—we tested several to find the best.
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October 22, 2009 at 3:02 pm
· Filed under Cookies/Cake/Pastry
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Chocolate cookies with chocolate crème or caramel filling, enrobed in chocolate. Dangerously addictive. Photo by Hannah Kaminsky | THE NIBBLE. |
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We recently received an invitation to meet Gail Simmons, Special Projects Manager with Food & Wine Magazine who gained national (international? interplanetary?) visibility as a judge on our favorite TV food show, “Top Chef.” She was the celebrity guest at a debut party for Pepperidge Farm’s Tam Tam cookies—the top-selling cookie in Australia, now available in the U.S., and apparently a favorite of Gail’s. You can find them exclusively at Target stores from October through March (when they can be shipped in cool comfort without hot containers melting the chocolate).
If you like Kit Kat and Twix bars, these are bigger, plumper, more sumptuous versions. Crisp chocolate cookie layers are filled with chocolate crème or richer caramel, then enrobed in even richer chocolate.
Tim Tam cookies were named after the 1958 Kentucky Derby winner. The more voluptuous Caramel Tim Tams outshine their Chocolate Creme sisters, but if we had never met Caramel, we’d have been happy taking Chocolate Crème home. The milk chocolate enrobing the cookie is very sweet—eat more than two at a time and you’ll be sorry. So in that way, the cookies have a beneficial, self-limiting feature. (We didn’t have a chance to try the dark chocolate versions.)
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Tim Tam Trivia:
400,000,000 million Tim Tam cookies are sold in Australia every year (more than 36 million boxes).
They are ranked as one of the best inventions since sliced bread, trailing only the World Wide Web, penicillin and the TV remote (according to a 2008 poll conducted by The Times in the UK and news.com.au in Australia).
Now, some of you have heard about the upcoming FTC “blogger disclosure law,” actually part of the new FTC Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising, that is scheduled to go into effect on December 1st. Among other things, it requires those who endorse products in the media, including blogs and social media, to disclose if they have received the products for free, work for the company, are an MD, Phd or other “Dr.” (if they call upon their expertise as a doctor), etc. At THE NIBBLE, we’re already anticipating using disclosures like, “We received these four flavors for free, and bought these 6 flavors at our local supermarket.” (THE NIBBLE gets free samples, but we spend far more buying products plus the ancillary products needed to cook, bake and otherwise prepare many of the free samples.)
In the case of Tim Tam: We got them for free but enjoyed them so much, we would gladly have paid for them and certainly will go out and pay for the dark chocolate versions. These are not artisan baked goods, but they are one heck of an addiction as well as a fix.
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October 22, 2009 at 7:40 am
· Filed under Cookies/Cake/Pastry, Halloween, Recipes, Thanksgiving
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We love pumpkin cheesecake: So many recipes, so little time! This recipe is on the lighter side—pumpkin mousse—which makes it a better option after a heavy dinner. Think ahead to Thanksgiving, but try it out for Halloween.
The recipe was created by Andrea Watman, Creative Director at Zabar’s in New York City. Another twist is the gingersnap cookie crust, which brings even more holiday flavor into the recipe.
Try the pumpkin mousse cheesecake recipe.
No mousse for you? Here’s a full-strength mocha pumpkin cheesecake (cheesecake with a coffee bean-graham cracker crust and a mocha glaze).
Find more cheesecake recipes, including Burnt Caramel Cheesecake Brûlée, Cranberry Cheesecake, Irish Coffee cheesecake, Mango Cheesecake, Mascarpone Cheesecake, Rosemarie Brie Cheesecake and Sour Cream Topping Cheesecake.
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Pumpkin mousse cheesecake is lighter than other recipes. |
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